1. Technical Field
This disclosure generally relates to internal combustion engines, and more specifically relates to a valve cover for an internal combustion engine.
2. Background Art
See-through valve covers are known in the art to show valves of an internal combustion engine when the engine is not running. These see-through valve covers are typically made of a transparent plastic material, such as plexiglass, which allows seeing through the cover. The materials for known see-through valve covers cannot withstand the operating temperatures of an internal combustion engine. As a result, the known see-through valve covers are made for use only when the engine is not running.
Many car enthusiasts enjoy displaying their cars at car shows. One aspect of showing a car is the appearance of the engine under the hood. When a hood is raised for public inspection of the engine compartment, the car owner wants to present a clean and attractive appearance so the car shows well. One way to provide a different and attractive appearance of the engine compartment is to use see-through valve covers. However, because the known see-through valve covers cannot survive operating temperature of an engine, the only way a car can be shown with known see-through valve covers is to put them on the car, then not run the engine after they are installed. This causes great inconvenience because even when a car is transported to and from a car show on a trailer, the engine is typically run to drive the car off the trailer and to drive the car back on the trailer. If the car is driven to the car show, a person would have to drive to the show with normal metal valve covers, then remove the metal valve covers and replace them with the known see-through valve covers for the show. Once the show concludes, the person would then have to remove the see-through valve covers and replace them with the metal valve covers to drive the car home. Needless to say, swapping between see-through valve covers for show and metal valve covers when the engine needs to be run is very inconvenient. What is needed is a valve cover that shows well and that also withstands the operating environment of an engine.